UN concerned by Gitmo hunger strike

The UN Human Rights body has finally responded to mounting media coverage of the Guantanamo crisis. In a letter answering RT’s inquiry, spokesman for the High Commissioner said the office was looking into the details of the mass hunger strike.

“While aware of some of the allegations of mistreatment of
inmates said to have provoked the hunger strike - which include
undue interference with the inmates’ personal effects - we are
still trying to confirm the details,” the letter said.

The statement from the office of the High Commissioner goes on
to say UN Human Rights chief Navi Pillay has “repeatedly
regretted that the US Government has not closed Guantanamo
Bay.”

She is concerned with fact that the National Defense
Authorization Act has created obstacles for the closure of
Guantanamo and also trial of detainees in civilian courts as well
as releasing those cleared of allegations.

The UN has not been afforded sufficient access to the island
prison, which will make it difficult for the organization’s human
rights body to obtain the data they need.

The International Committee of the Red Cross (ICRC), which
visited the island prison from February 18 to 23, was the first
among international organizations to comment on the situation at
the Guantanamo detention camp. It released the following
statement:

“The ICRC believes past and current tensions at Guantanamo to
be the direct result of the uncertainty faced by
detainees.”

Meanwhile, Gitmo officials have become more open on the hunger
strike. On Tuesday Guantanamo Communications director Captain
Robert Durand confirmed the number of protesting detainees nearly
doubled over a 10-day period, reaching 24.

Still, he rejected claims by the detainees’ attorneys that the
majority of inmates were involved in the protest, which reportedly
started in the Guantanamo Bay detention facility on February 6.

The strike thus enters Day 43 on Wednesday, with medical experts
predicting that by Day 45, participants can experience potential
blindness and partial hearing loss.

The Center for Constitutional Rights has sent a letter to US
Defense Secretary Chuck Hagel urging him “to address this
growing crisis at Guantánamo before another man dies at the
prison.”